Tanks of The Soviet Union - General Developments Influencing Soviet Tank Design

General Developments Influencing Soviet Tank Design

Imperial Russia had flirted with some designs such as the Tsar Tank which was scraped, and the Vezdekhod (Russian: Вездеход) which did not however progress further than a pre-production model, due to problems in the design.

The final tank designs in World War I showed a number of trends such as in the US and British produced Mark VIII tank for heavy tanks. However, the FT-17 set the pattern for almost all tanks that followed it; these tanks generally had lower track profiles, more compact hulls, and mounted their weapons in turrets. Following the Great War, Britain continued its technical dominance of tank design and British designs, particularly those from Vickers-Armstrong, which formed the basis for many of Russian tanks of the 1930s and early World War II and this included the Soviet T-26, and BT series. Designs such as the Vickers Medium Mk II, brought to the forefront the fully rotating turret on top and dual-use 3-pounder gun (that could fire both high-explosive and anti-tank shells) and sloped armour, while the Vickers Carden-Lloyd machine gun carriers influenced the tankette concept such as the Soviet T-27.

Another notable design that influenced the Russians was the Vickers A1E1 Independent, which was a large heavy tank built in 1925 and its design was used by the Soviet in building their T-28 and T-35 tanks. The Russian designs were also influenced by the idea common in most armies that the tank was to be used in the role of cavalry or to assist the infantry. Thus the development of light tanks that would be useful primarily against infantry or for reconnaissance were the norm. The Spanish Civil War showed that tank-versus-tank engagements and tank-versus-towed antitank gun engagements would now be a major consideration. It became clear that future tanks would need to be heavily armoured and carry larger guns.

The Soviet Union's efforts in tank design and production must be understood in the context of the experience of the Russian Civil War and the growth of Soviet industry. During the civil war, the use of armoured trains and artillery trains was common. This tended to lead to a greater interest in tanks and armoured cars compared to some western nations. The rapid growth of heavy industry in the USSR under the Five-Year plans made a large tank fleet possible. The Soviets also spent tens of millions of dollars on U.S. equipment and technology to modernise dozens of automotive and tractor factories, which would later produce tanks and armoured vehicles. Joseph Stalin's enthusiasm for industrialisation and mechanisation drove an aggressive military development program, resulting in by far the largest and broadest tank inventory of all nations by the late 1930s.

In the U.S., J. Walter Christie had developed a series of fast tanks, based on his revolutionary Christie suspension system. This was combined with very high power-to-weight ratios achieved by fitting large aircraft engines in his tanks. Some of his prototypes were purchased by the Soviet Union, and were to be developed into the BT tanks and eventually, on the eve of World War II, the famous T-34. The BT series in turn influenced the British cruiser tank designs such as the A-13 Cruiser Mk IV, Crusader, and others.

In France, they pioneered manufacturing methods in the use of very large castings to form gun mantlets, turrets and eventually, entire tank hulls. The widespread use of casting was copied by the Russians, and led the way in rationalizing designs for fast production, eliminating unnecessary components or manufacturing steps that added little value, which later was to be incorporated in the mass production of their tanks such as the T-34.